The Los Angeles Clippers are thin along the front line. Sure they start with the incredibly athletic pairing of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, but when they go to the bench (or when Jordan has to sit the fourth quarter) it is Ryan Hollins and Byron Mullens. And that’s it.

Amundson has gotten an invite to Clippers training camp, reports Marc Stein of ESPN. The Clippers had been rumored to have had interest in him for a while but this is a non-guaranteed contract.

Amundson played 39 games with three teams last season and brings a team energy off the bench, some rebounding, and almost no offense whatsoever. He’s not going to provide a team much at this point, but it may be enough to make the Clippers roster. Maybe. But it’s still a long shot.

Wait just one minute Last week it was reported that a nobody out of Brigham Young , Brandon Davies was signed to backup Blake Griffin and Andre Jordan . Davies , an after thought was signed to a partially guaranteed contract because he performed well in Vegas . For the last month it was reported that Admunden was being pursued by both the Clippers and Lakers . Then the news went south and nothing was heard . Here is the dilemma .
Why should the Clippers take a chance on starting the season ( a season where they have a chance to win it all ) with a rookie power forward named Davies ? Admundsen has been in the league several years and can play defense and rebound . What’s the question or problem Clippers ? Sign this guy and stop being cheap . It looks like you have 5 or 6 small forwards . Cut one loose and pay Admundsen !

Doc Rivers and Alvin Gentry both saw something in Davies that nobody else could not. Even I couldn’t determine his Prevention stats, which is an upcoming metric of mine which hopes to determine what a player takes away from the opposition when defense is applied. The only thing we know about Davies besides breaking the Mormon/religious honor code is that he plays physical, is a smart defender, and is younger. Some people see him as an improved safer version of Lamar Odom.

That being said, the real reason why Davies is getting the nod has to do with the luxury tax. One downside to being within the apron is that teams lose the ability to sign players under the full mid-level exception following next season. The Clippers are going to be a luxury tax payer unless they can unload a few contracts. It could mean parting way with Willie Green, or worse, their sixth man candidate Jamal Crawford (rumor has it he could be traded come the deadline).

There IS a good side: if the Clips decide to trade Crawford, Green and others (and the Eric Bledsoe exception, if used wisely), their combined value could return them a true defensive big man, and they desperately need one. Beyond Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, they have three bad big men in Byron Mullens, Ryan Hollins and Antawn Jamison, each with a unique and hindering deficiency. And Amundson is no different, for he brings bad free throw shooting, making Hack-A-Shaq all the more useful.

If you don’t think tax is the issue, what if I told you character. The Clippers are trying to avoid players who could end up being a distraction in the locker room and around Blake Griffin and Chris Paul in terms of personality and marketability. Since CP3’s arrival, the Clippers have created a family-like atmosphere. Their players have already brought kids to the locker room.